You are absolutely right on this one. Even with a hefty paunch, the rise and deep pleat on Mr. Ferre’s pants make him look slim. The vest does a nice masking job as well. But could a young, corpulent fellow really pull this off?

Itâ€™s all been said in response to Lesson 1; nevertheless, my compliments to you, Sart, for recognizing the tailoring axiom that the waist of the trousers belongs on the waist of the wearer. One of the menâ€™s â€śfashionâ€ť magazines recently cautioned its readers that tailors will always want to pull the clientâ€™s trousers up to his waist before marking them for alteration. Had the magazine truly been devoted to developing sartorial style, the caution would have been against purchasing trousers that are cut with such a short rise that they cannot sit at the wearerâ€™s waist. Your pictures of the trim Miller brothers show that even though the recent swing of the pendulum is toward slim flat front trousers, balance and proportion are still best served by following the axiom. For rotund fellows like the late Mr. Ferre, not just style but, more importanly, both comfort and a decent respect for the opinion of mankind (the avoidance of plumberâ€™s crack) demand waist high pants. Jeans, khakis, and shorts hanging from slim hips, fine, but tailored trousers, never.

A few weeks ago, I watched the movie ‘The Shop Around the Corner’ and was impressed by Jimmy Stewart’s timeless fashion choices. Now that I look back on it, I realize that the key of his classically handsome look were his gentlemanly, high-waisted pants that made him look dignified and also added to his vertical body type by lengthening his legs.

however… one seems to forget that nearly all of the people you beautifully capture one the street don’t have average bodies, but rather quite slim and/or tall physiques that always seem to carry clothes effortlessly…..

so that being said, while i love your photos, i really don’t think it’s as easy as it seems……..

There is a definite problem of late with shorter rise pants coming into fashion. I used to need regular rise trousers, but in a suit I recently purchased from a standard, respected label they left the family jewels on display when pulled up to the waist!